Today’s Lie: I Have Nothing to Write

Ok, let’s be honest, sometimes we bloggers reach a block. The white wall of doom, where there are no words, no ideas, and no thoughts, apart from “why the fuck can’t I figure out what to write this week?!”

This can be particularly devastating when you realize that you’ve had a bender of a weekend, the details of which would make for a great blog post, but simply wouldn’t be suitable for public eyes, plus you’re out of food, you can’t drink because of allergies, your neighbors are driving you nuts, and your deadline is tomorrow. (Not that any of this happened to ME…)

So you either sit and stare at your blank WordPress screen, hoping some mystical force, or unseen muse will sprinkle you with fairy dust which will inspire your fingers to type the words on the screen that are not coming to your head, or you give up and watch TV…

Then you realize that the fantasy you had about maintaining a stellar blog with new content on a regular basis ain’t gonna happen, because, clearly, it can’t handle blogger’s block.

Blogger’s block, ironically, is full of bull. It doesn’t exist. Because, guess what? The very fact that you have nothing to write, is writing itself! There is usually a reason that you don’t have any ideas (perfection monster, fear, bender weekend you can’t dare give details about…) and within those reasons often lies the story you need to tell (and you can work around the sordid details, I am sure!)

In fact, writing about the fact that you have nothing to write PROVES that you do have something to write! (HINT – I just did it.) So, if you think your writing powers have become stymied for the moment, here are some ideas:

Write down “I have nothing to write.” Then your page is no longer white and blank, and you will see that you actually can do it!

Next, write down whatever is on your mind – the thing that’s pissing you off, or making you feel ungrounded, or making your anxiety run amuck. Even if you don’t publish your words, at least write them down to get the writing juices flowing.

You can now either use your writing to become a blog post, or, having worked through what was holding you back, go forth and write what you really want to say!